In just months, he went from savior to love interest to brutal attacker.

Because of that, a one-time drug counselor pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaulting a Butler woman he first encountered while helping her.

The victim, 36-year-old Tiffany Schramm, testified she was chased down, punched, kicked and burned with a butcher’s knife that had been heated on a kitchen stove.

“He tortured me for close to two hours,” Schramm told Butler County Judge Timothy McCune on Tuesday during the sentencing hearing for 36-year-old James B. Byers of Pittsburgh.

As part of Byers’ plea arrangement with the county district attorney, Byers, who was sentenced to serve 1 to 2 years in prison followed by three years of probation, agreed to publicly apologize to Schramm.

“I’m extremely sorry for everything that happened that night,” said Byers, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and terroristic threats.

According to court records, the incident occurred Oct. 9 at Schramm’s home on First Street.

Schramm said she approached Byers because he earlier believed he had seen one of her ex-boyfriends in the neighborhood and erroneously believed she had been with him.

According to Schramm, Byers jumped out of bed and chased her down a set of steps. In the kitchen, he attacked her, breaking two ribs, causing a collapsed lung and a ruptured blood vessel in her left eye. She also suffered three burns from the heated knife, according to police reports.

Schramm in court Tuesday said her wounds since have turned to scars, but her nightmares continue.

“I’m still broken,” she said.

She told the judge she trusted Byers, having met him as her counselor during a difficult time in her life, and she believed he was her savior.

She said Byers easily gained her trust, and she was flattered about receiving attention from a well-educated man. According to in-court testimony, Byers has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from Temple University. Both are in social work.

But during their four-month relationship, Schramm testified things turned violent quickly. Even before the attack, Schramm alleges a month earlier Byers beat her with a belt for a perceived misdeed and demanded she send full-body photographs of herself to him so he could approve her clothing when leaving the home.

“He’s a predator,” she told the judge.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope, who prosecuted the case, told the judge officials already have contacted the state licensing board and it is likely Byers will never be able to work as a therapist again.

Lope said the sentence recommendation was reduced because Byers has no prior criminal record, but has known mental health issues and alcohol problems.

While incarcerated, Byers said he has been attending counseling and helping other inmates earn GEDs.